About Us

Mission Statement Live a life that leads everyday people to follow Christ with passion

Vision Statement To transform everyday people to be Christ-like through the power of the Holy Spirit Our Core Values M - Mission is our passion and the heart of our ministry I - Intimate relationship with God and fellowship with each other E - Equip the young and old to serve God N - Nurture a healthy body through true-hearted worship H - Hold firm to the Biblical Doctrine

Statements of Faith We believe in one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17; Matthew 28:19).

We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and is fully God and fully man (Matthew 18-23).

We believe the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments are verbally inspired by God and inerrant in the original writings, and of supreme and final authority in faith and life (2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

We believe that we were created in the image of God; that we sinned and received the consequences of not only physical death, but also that spiritual death which is separation from God; and that all human beings are born in sin, and that this sinful nature is the origin of all sinful acts in thought, word, and deed (Genesis 1:26; Romans 5:12; Isaiah 59:2-4; Romans 6:23).

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, taking our punishment we deserved; and that all who believe in Him are justified on the grounds of His shed blood (Romans 5:8-9).

We believe that all who receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith are born again of the Holy Spirit, and thereby become children of God (John 1:12; Romans 8:9).

We believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ and His ascension to heaven, and in His present work as high Priest and advocate (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Hebrews 4:14-16).

We believe all will raise to life, those who put their trust in Jesus to everlasting joy beyond earthly comparison, and those who have not believed to everlasting punishment (1 Corinthians 2:9; Acts 24:15; Revelation 20:15; Romans 6:23).

History

The Mien Evangelical Church was established in 1979, which was formerly known as Iuh Mien American Baptist Church and Seattle Yiu-Mien Christian Church. The majority of the church members resettled in Washington State from Laos and Thailand as political refugees. We are very grateful and thankful to our Lord and Savior for bringing all of us safely to the United States. In 1979, a small but enthusiastic congregation of three families started worshiping at Northgate Gospel Chapel in North Seattle. Transportation for the Mien families was provided by the mother church to and from the church facility every Sunday. By late1980, the number of families had grown too large to be transported from South Seattle, where most of the families resided, to North Seattle. With the help of Verna Aspray (Feix Orn), a missionary from Canada and Mr. Cal Uomoto, president of World Relief, the congregation was moved to the Japanese Presbyterian Church in Seattle and elected Mr. Chiem Fow Saechao to serve as a volunteer lay Pastor. By 1983 the membership grew to about 50 families.

In late 1984 many families moved to Oregon, California, and other states and the membership declined to just 15 families. During this period the congregation went through a challenging time with a lack of leadership, discipleship, and spiritual growth. In 1986 Mr. Fou Wa Saechao and his family moved to Seattle from Texas and took on the responsibility of a lay Pastor. Together with Chairman Mr. Yoon Nin Saechao, they prayed for vision and revival of the congregation. God blessed the congregation and the membership increased to approximately 350 members by 1995.

With the growth of the church came the need for a full-time pastor. The Lord brought Reverend Prasarn Saelee and his family from Thailand to pastor this church in early 1997. Although the church had been growing in number, it wasn’t until Rev. Saelee came that the church as a whole grew in spiritual maturity and Christlikeness. Under his leadership, the congregation had the vision of having their own building to worship. In July of 1997 a plot of land was purchased in Seattle with the hopes of building the home of the future church. Members immediately began the task of clearing the land without a permit from the county. The congregation was fined and instructed by the county to plant back every tree that was cut down. Furthermore, the county had the plot of land surveyed and concluded that it was a “wet-land.” The county claimed that there wasn’t large enough buffer zone from the “wet-land” area to build a structure. The congregation decided to sell the land at a discounted market value. Praise God! The land was not able to sell even at discounted price. With the leadership of Mr. Youd Sinh Chao and the boards, the plot of land was resurveyed by an independent engineer and declared not a wetland.

In March 1998 the congregation moved to a Lutheran Church in Tukwila as a temporary home. After five years there, the congregation decided to purchase the Lutheran Church when it was up for sale in 2003. At around the same time, the plot of land was reappraised and sold for almost a million dollar a few years later. With proceeds from the sale of the land, the congregation was able to completely paid off all outstanding loans on the church and assisted a fellow sister church in California to purchase their church building. We thank God for all the trials and the triumphs that He had faithfully guided us through. Truly, it was His plan and timing for everything. We believe in the miracles and power of our almighty God!